There were three line-of-duty deaths in Colorado in the five-plus weeks since the end of 2017.
Douglas County Deputy Zack Parrish died Dec. 31; he was shot along with four other law enforcement officers. Adams County Deputy Heath Gumm was killed last month, and El Paso County Deputy Micah Flick was killed Monday. In total, that's 36 days from start to finish.
This isn’t the first time Colorado has suffered the loss of several officers in short order.
In the summer of 2012, three died in the line of duty in 38 days - from gunfire, a heart attack, and being hit by car. In 1987, Colorado lost three officers in the span of 20 days.
It began September 6th, 1987 - DANIEL RALPH STILLWELL, Denver Sheriff's Dept.
Deputy Stillwell was shot and killed with his own weapon after being disarmed by a prisoner. Deputy Stillwell was assigned to hospital security at the time an inmate was brought in to be examined. While in the examination room the inmate began to scream. Deputy Stillwell entered the room and was disarmed by the suspect. The man then shot him several times and took his handcuff keys. The suspect fled the hospital but was captured by security guards.
Deputy Stillwell was survived by his wife and daughter..
Sept. 21, 1987 - EDWARD JOHN HOCKOM, Aurora Police
Agent Hockom was shot and killed after stopping a vehicle which matched the description of a vehicle leaving the scene of an armed robbery ten minutes earlier. After stopping the vehicle Agent Hockom was shot by the suspect with a handgun. The suspect was later arrested after a long vehicle pursuit and charged with murder and three other robberies committed in the hour prior to the shooting.
Sept. 26, 1987 - CHARLES ANDREW FRY, Colorado State Patrol
Trooper Charles Fry was killed after being struck by a drunk driver on I-25 between Denver and Colorado Springs, just south of the Douglas County line.
The driver fled the scene but was arrested at a roadblock on I-25 near C-470. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison but was released after serving only 12 years. Within nine months of the suspect's release he was charged with DUI on two different occasions.
Information via Officer Down Memorial Page.
The drunk driver who killed Trooper Fry was arrested by a State Trooper named Lora Thomas, who’s now a Douglas County Commissioner. That man has been arrested several times in Colorado over the years, for charges including DUI, trespassing and violating probation. His most recent arrest was in 2016.
